May 2010
May 10, 2010 at 9:18 am
Photo by andrewbain / CC BY 2.0
About seven years ago, my dad told us he was going to North Carolina on a business trip. Then, well, let’s just say he never made it to North Carolina and the next time I saw him was at the divorce hearing. Unlike my father, when I tell you I’m going to North Carolina, I’m actually going there, like, to live.
It all started last November when I flew out to Los Angeles. I stepped off the plane and it was so sunny that I felt a surge of Vitamin D coursing through my veins and I could hear the birds singing just for me. I wanted to lick the sunshine, or at least pack it in my suitcase. Then, I returned to Indiana, where my nostril hairs froze and the sky was most definitely NOT the color of topaz or even tourmaline, and I thought, “Why the hell am I living in this shithole?”
Then my consciousness replied, “Because of your mom and brother, you numnuts.” And I was like, [...]
May 7, 2010 at 8:12 am
Disclosure: I received a prize package from Bertolli for this giveaway.
I was a bit skeptical when Bertolli contacted me about their new webisode series, Into the Heart of Italy. I figured the videos would be stilted advertorials of no interest to me or my readers. Then I actually watched an episode and was surprised by how much I liked it. It’s, like, an actual show. (Warning: It also made me hungry. You probably shouldn’t watch on an empty stomach.)
Into the Heart of Italy is a series of 8-10 minute episodes that feature Rocco DiSpirito, Marisa Tomei, and Dan Cortese running around Italy making and eating delicious food—when they’re not being kidnapped by a Chicken Man. I always say, “If you go to Italy, beware of the Chicken Man!” I’ve always liked Marisa Tomei; I liked Rocco DiSpirito’s reality show The Restaurant that was on several years ago; And who doesn’t love Dan Cortese, former VJ and host of MTV Sports? You remember MTV Sports, right? What’s that? You’ve never heard of it? You were born [...]
May 6, 2010 at 8:12 am
Photo by Russell-Higgs / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
I have been freelancing fulltime for 10 months now, and I ain’t broke yet! Working for myself has been fun/exciting/freeing and stressful/boring/frightening. Regardless of what adjectives you use, it has also required math skills and free wifi.
I have learned how to prepare estimates, to charge what I’m worth, and to keep detailed records. I bring up work at any dinner out so I can write the meal off on my taxes. I’ve overcome my telephone anxiety (for the most part), run a meeting all by myself, and I’ve pitched my business in ten seconds or less at networking events.
I still haven’t figured out a long-term health insurance solution, and sometimes I get lonely or bored and don’t work as hard as I know I should. But I also get to shop for groceries in the middle of the day in my flip flops. And I can jet down to Louisville to meet friends on a weekday without having to ask anyone’s permission to do so. It balances out.
Overall [...]
May 5, 2010 at 11:31 am
Some words and phrases should never be in the same sentence together, like “popsicles” and “green bean.” (Oh, wait, technically that should be “jelly ice milk bar” and “green bean.”)
Whenever I see odd food like this from a different country, I wonder what items in my own grocery store make foreigners raise their eyebrows in disgust. Any guesses?
May 3, 2010 at 1:00 pm
Disclosure: I was given free access to the Workout Box training programs and was compensated for this review.
When I joined the YMCA a few years ago, the shiny workout machines scared me, the guys lifting weights intimidated me, and I still have no idea how to work a rowing machine. I ended up on the elliptical or the treadmill most nights, going nowhere literally and not making as much progress as I could have with a better training program.
Sometimes you just want a professional to tell you what to do. There are several ways you can get a training program together, either by hiring a certified trainer, buying a book, reading expert bloggers’ sites, or purchasing a plan from a web-based service like WorkoutBOX. I was asked to review the latter and decided to take them up on the opportunity. I’ve been craving a bit of variety in my program, but I don’t really want to hire a trainer, nor do I feel like I have the expertise to figure out a plan on my [...]
My latest tweets
"What distinguishes us one from another is our dreams and what we do to make them come about." - Joseph Epstein
